JPN494: Japanese Language and LinguisticsJPN543: Advanced Japanese Language and Linguistics

Syntax (1)

Plan

Part I: The basic architecture of modern syntactic theory

Part II: Major constructions (passives, causatives, benefacti

ves). Pronoun “zibun ( 自分 )” Particles

What is syntax?

Syntax is the subfield of linguistics that studies the internal structure of sentences and the relationships among the internal parts.

What is generative syntax?

The basic idea of generative syntax (a.k.a. generative grammar, formal syntax): “A grammar is a formal (algebraic) system for generating the sentences of a language.”

language (in this particular sense) = grammar + lexicon

grammar = a system of rules, principles, and constraints that characterize all and only the well-formed sentences (and meanings thereof).

The dog bit the horse. *Dog the horse the bit.

He likes us. *He like we.

They saw Pat with Chris. Who did they see Pat with _?

They saw Pat and Chris. *Who did they see Pat and _?

(from Sag et al. 2003)

Pat seems to be helpful. Pat tries to be helpful.

There seems to be a tiger in the garden. *There tries to be a tiger in the garden.

(from Sag et al. 2003)

Linguistic expressions must occur in a certain linear order. – *Dog the horse the bit.– * 犬が馬かんだを

Linguistic expressions must be grouped in a certain way.– The mother of the boy and the girl will arrive soon.– 美しい本のカバー– cf. I bought a mouse; I saw her duck

What does a “formal system for generating the sentences of a language” look like?

simple phrase structure grammar Lexicon:

D: the, a, someA: big, brown, oldN: birds, dog, hunter, telescopeV: attack, ate, watchedP: for, beside, with

Grammatical Rules:S → NP VPNP → (D) A* N PP*VP → V (NP) (PP)PP → P NP

the dog attacked birds the hunter watched the dog with a telescope the big brown dog watched the birds besides

the hunter with a telescope

*attacked the hunter the dog *birds dog the hunter watched *telescope with ate the birds

the hunter watched the dog with a telescope Lexicon:

D: the, a, someA: big, brown, oldN: birds, dog, hunter, telescopeV: attack, ate, watchedP: for, beside, with

Grammatical Rules:S → NP VPNP → (D) A* N PP*VP → V (NP) (PP)PP → P NP

Lexicon:Mod: この , 大きなN: 猟師 ( りょうし ), 肉屋 ( にくや ), 犬 , 魚 V: あげた , 見た , ほめたP: が , を , に

Grammatical Rules:S → (NP) (NP) (NP) VNP → (Mod) N P

猟師が肉屋を見た 猟師が大きな魚を犬にあげた ほめた

* 猟師が見た肉屋を * 犬にを見た * をほめた

Limitations of simple phrase structure grammar

#1 Subcategorization

The defendant denied the accusation. The problem disappeared. The teacher handed the student a book.

*The defendant denied. *The teacher disappeared the problem. *The teacher handed the student.

VP → IVVP → TV NPVP → DTV NP NP

#2 Agreement and transitivity

The bird sings. The birds sing.

*The bird sing. *The birds sings.

S → NP-sg VP-sgS → NP-pl VP-pl

NP-sg → (D) N-sgNP-pl → (D) N-pl

VP-sg → IV-sgVP-pl → IV-pl

The bird devours the worms. The birds devour the worms.

The boy gives the girls flowers. The boys give the girls flowers.

VP-sg → TV-sg {NP-sg | NP-pl}VP-pl → TV-pl {NP-sg | NP-pl}

VP-sg → DTV-sg {NP-sg | NP-pl} {NP-sg | NP-pl}VP-pl → DTV-pl {NP-sg | NP-pl} {NP-sg | NP-pl}

“This set of rules is cumbersome, and clearly misses linguistically significant generalizations.” (ibid.: p.39)

Phrases(1) a group of syntactically combined expressions.(2) a group of expressions that does not require syntactic dep

endents (subject, complements, determiner, etc.); “saturated” groups of expressions

bird, birds, small birds, small bird, the small bird, the small birds

devours, devours a chicken, sings (itr.)

Two major approaches in formal syntax

transformational approach– a.k.a.: Chomskyan syntax, minimalist approach– founder: Noam Chomsky

constraint-based approach– a.k.a.: lexicalist approach

Transformations

Transformations: operations that change/modify phrase structure representations (copy, deletion, movement, etc.)

S → NP Aux VP (e.g. John can sing.) John sings.

– D-structure: John φ sing – intermediate stage: John -s sing (affix insertion)– S-structure: John sings (verb raising or affix hopping)

Who did John see? – D-structure: John -ed see who– i.s. #1: -ed John see who (subj.-aux. inversion)– i.s. #2: did John see who (do-support)– S-structure: Who did John see (wh-movement)

The vase was broken – D-structure: φ -ed break the vase– i.s. #1: φ -ed break-en the vase (en-insertion)– i.s. #2: the vase -ed broken (movement)– S-structure: the vase was broken (be-support)

太郎を花子が見た– D-structure: [S H-ga [VPT-o mi-ta]]– S-structure: [S T-o [S H-ga [VP mi-ta]]] (scrambling)

S → NP VP or S → NP NP V

3 人の学生が来た 学生が 3 人来た

3 人の学生がピアノを持ち上げた (ambiguous)

学生が 3 人 ピアノを持ち上げた (not ambiguous)

[3 人の学生 ] が来た (pre-nominal) [ 学生 3 人 ] が 来た (post-nominal) 学生が 3 人来た (adverbial)

[( その ) 3 冊の本 ] を読んだ (pre-nominal) [ 本 3 冊 ] を読んだ (post-nominal) 本を 3 冊読んだ (adverbial)